Charismatic

Apparently not, they kicked out the two honest blokes instead. That's politics .

Standard left wing election stuff but I expect TOP and Labour might pick up a few votes.

LoCarb

A few Holier-than-thou types logging in at the mo.

If you'd lived through New Zealand's version of the Pol Pot regime of the early 90's (just minus the executions), you might not be so quick to jump to uninformed conclusions.

Even the Prime Minster of the time, Jim Bolger, now regrets his involvement with this cruel regime which set benefits a 20% below basic survival level.

Here's a challenge folks. Watch this documentary, which I've posted before:

https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/in-...of-plenty-2002

Charismatic

Completely understandable that if you put ordinary people in desperate situations they take extreme action like criminality. What's less apparent is why the Green Party have suspended two MPs who stood by their own principals and expressed a more diverse opinion. Not particularly progressive or inclusive sadly.

chocolate cake

Yeah the Greens have simply imploded, and Labour must be sure to be back up 30% in the next polls with support hemorrhaging from the Greens. Surely Turei has to go, though it's who has the pants among the two green co-leaders.

chocolate cake

Ridiculous comparing anything to the Pol Pot regime even minus the executions, which it's impossible to divorce.

LoCarb

I speak as I find.

Cruelty is cruelty especially when it was enjoyed by the perpetrators.

The criminals were not those receiving benefits, but the government ministers & treasury officials enriching themselves while others' suffered.

At least Bolger is squirming in his dotage....... so there is some justice.

MrsFychan

Metiria Turei, SHe has resigned

Charismatic

"Omnishambles: A situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and miscalculations."

Anyway status quo remains much the same with polling. Winston will likely hold the balance of power...and may I be the first to say that I for one welcome the idea of palanquins carried by servile Generation Zers as they ferry white pensioners between bowls clubs to enjoy their tax free retirement incomes. Finally a vision of New Zealand we can all agree on!

LoCarb

Ardern for PM. I could live with that.

"In just a week Jacinda Ardern has delivered a poll-quake to the New Zealand political scene"

chocolate cake

Yesterday she was staying as co-leader to the election and beyond, but Metiria Turei has finally fallen on her sword and resigned as Deputy Leader, it may come too late for the Greens now, as they're struggle to focus on policy particular given James Shaw's continual backing for her.

6 weeks to go though and it's all up for grabs.

LoCarb

Gareth Morgan's TOP campaign launch this afternoon.

He's blaming the baby boomers for all of life's problems

"The current generation, the baby boomers, may be the first to leave behind a New Zealand with less fairness and less equality than we were born into," Morgan says.

"We are leaving them loaded with debt for our education while we ask them to pay for our retirement. We are pricing them out of the housing market so that we can make tax free capital gains."

Gareth: It was the previous generation that introduced neoliberalism, so don't blame us.
I'd love to change things, but the 1% are firmly in control.

Bo-Jangles

Jacinda Ardern has certainly added a bit of fizz and vibrancy to the proceedings and the Labour party has gathered a huge amount of momentum, aided of course by the self-implosion of the Green party.

It's certainly lifted the spirit of this election and feeling a lot like the 1997 in the UK when Tony Blair came onto the scene; the playing field is a lot more level and after nine years of National it seems quite a lot of people are ready for a change.

Whatever happens it's good to see the National Party have to shake themselves and wake up to the fact that they now have to face a real contest and they surely must now have to countenance the idea that they might actually be on the losing side.

carcajou

Comparing 1990s NZ Government to Pol Pot is beyond stupid and is incredibly insulting to anyone who was victimised by that regime. Perhaps LoCarb has lived in such an impenetrable Western comfort bubble that he/she has no idea what Pol Pot really was like, and LoCarb's thought process has de-evolved to not be able to handle anyone disagreeing with his/her political views.

I strongly suggest you go visit Cambodia and the killing fields, and then see what connections you really find between Bolger and Pol Pot.

I also highly encourage you to take a series of remedial history classes, and try very hard to restore your grip on reality.

I get it. You don't like Bolger or Rogernomics. But you sound like a lunatic when you draw comparisons between Prime Ministers and genocidal dictators, and Labour and the Greens lose votes every time someone like you says that into a megaphone, because no ordinary person with a lick of common sense could seriously make that comparison and they end up thinking it is Labour, not National, run by a bunch of loonies.

Kotare

Not a lunatic - just an extreme left wing liberal who I guess would be happy voting for Corbyn/Milne/McDonnell and their world viewpoint.

Charismatic

NZ Government or Khmer Rouge?

Benefit of doubt here, some creative licence should be granted. I once described David Cunliffe as a "smile shy ferret" on here when in fact I was aware he may have once smiled as his wikipedia photograph shows.

At the risk of stepping on the moderators toes let's keep things nice boys and girls. At the end of the day we are just some opinionated idiots on the internets, if you want a proper serious chat about politics and such take a PoliSci course at your local university. Still a few weeks to run here so make a cup of tea, get the biscuit tin out and settle in to watch some well educated people lie to you about which party has more moons on a stick to offer.